A Voice for Peace and Progress

Joan Baez brings her brand of social activism to the Fox.

By Mike Rosen-Molina

Published: November 1, 2016

One of the first ladies of folk brings her brand of social activism to the Fox on Nov. 6-7.

Folk rocker Joan Baez has been a voice for peace and progress since she first picked up a guitar. The social justice songstress first launched her musical career in 1960, dovetailing with the counterculture era with which she would be come associated.

Her music and life still reflect the tumultuous events that shaped modern America: Baez marched with Martin Luther King Jr. in the civil rights movement, stood hand in hand with student protesters against the war in Vietnam, supported the fight of Cesar Chavez, and introduced the world through song to the Berkeley Free Speech Movement.

Her music has diversified as she dabbles in everything from folk rock to country to gospel. She received a Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award in 2007. Day After Tomorrow, her 2008 album, was praised by critics and nominated for a Grammy. Its release was followed by the PBS American Masters premiere of her life story, Joan Baez: How Sweet The Sound.

But in 50-plus years of nonstop work, Baez continues to speak her conscience, being one of the voices to support the Dixie Chicks in their early opposition to the Iraq War. She’s still singing.